Cabinet Comparisons and Questions

Here is a simple question. How much clearance do you leave for tolex? My first cabinet will be a Deluxe Reverb style cab. Chassis width is 22-3/8". I was thinking 1/8" on each side for tolex and general clearance.

Surprised I was unable to find good cabinet plans online.

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Whatever the thickness of your tolex and speaker grill is the space you should leave around the perimeter, but ~ 1/8" is about what it will probably be. Some speaker grill is pantyhose thin and some is basket weave thick, so measure if you can.

MESABoogie has a listing of cabinet dimensions and I use those. I am not afraid to make an open back deeper.

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Good news and bad news. First the good. I got May new router table and I am ready to start on that first cabinet. First one will be a Deluxe Reverb style cabinet.

Bad news: someone borrowed my truck last weekend. Somehow it lost coolant (probably a water slow water pump leak) and got hot. They kept driving. Burned up the motor. I have a four day weekend which I intended to devote to the cabinet. Now it will be spent replacing the truck engine.

Still working on two issues for the cabinet. The roundover on the angled top edge of the cabinet is not something that can be done with a router. Can certainly be done by hand sanding. That is likely what I will do on this one. I would like to buy or fabricate a tool to do the quickly and consistently in the future. Also need to determine how much I am going to soften the interior edges of the cabinet. I will look at some amps to decide that question. I want to make the tolex install easier and less susceptible to damage.

More Fender discovery. I had hoped to get the process set where I cut my cabinet pieces including the angle for the controls. I dragged out several amps and empty chassis. They are very inconsistent. I settled on 85 degrees for the front face. But I will need to cut the angle for the controls based on each chassis. Once I use up the ones I have on hand I may try to develop a more consistent source.

Here is my new larger cab for my blues junior, made from pine, from Bunnings, made up the dimensions myself, few inches wider, bit deeper and nicely stained varnished. I used dowel joints as I don't have equipment for other.
I think it sounds a lot better.

Here is my new larger cab for my blues junior, made from pine, from Bunnings, made up the dimensions myself, few inches wider, bit deeper and nicely stained varnished. I used dowel joints as I don't have equipment for other.
View attachment 240361
I think it sounds a lot better. View attachment 240360

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Great looking cabinet and still easy to carry. I am sure the bump in size and the pine are an improvement over stock cab.

Picked these up in a trade. Had a 4 x12 Peavy slant front cab I was not going to use. Didn't have much money in the Peavy cab so it was a good swap for me. These will end up in 1 x 12 cabinets. Not sure how I am going to build the cabinets for them. I would welcome you input. I know it will need to be sturdy. These things are not light!

Picked these up in a trade. Had a 4 x12 Peavy slant front cab I was not going to use. Didn't have much money in the Peavy cab so it was a good swap for me. These will end up in 1 x 12 cabinets. Not sure how I am going to build the cabinets for them. I would welcome you input. I know it will need to be sturdy. These things are not light!
View attachment 247238

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First off NICE speakers. Tough to find any better than EV's or JBL's. Please don't waste them by building some mini-me easy transport 1x12s, give them some room to breathe. I don't have any cab size recommendations but I would make it spacious using your judgement, use a 1/2" thick baffle, make it open back. If you can afford it, I would use mahogany for the cabinet. Pine is nice but to me those nice high quality EV's are worth mahogany plus mahogany looks good as a furniture piece. I would have no qualms about hooking a couple JBL/EV loaded cabs up to my living room stereo when I feel like it!

If it were mine I would probably build about 22" high by 10.5" deep (bluesbreaker cab depth) by 20" wide cab. The back panels would extend up from the bottom and down from the top leaving the "open" portion with the magnet and a little speaker showing. A rather large, tallish cab. If you were really wanting to get detailed you could place a couple ports in the baffle so sound from behind the cab can also flow forwards. Lots to experiment with here.

I would be more inclined to build it as a 2x12 open back cause I don't care about weight and bulk but I know you want 1x12 so that is my best suggestion for you. Again, just ballpark stuff because I do not know anything related to the study of acoustics.

I do plan to make the cabinets large enough to give them some room. I am planning 1 x 12 as I can always use both cabinets for a larger, outdoor gig. But a single gives me options for smaller stages and venues. A stout baffle is not a luxury with these speakers. It is necessary. They will be finished in tolex. I have a big roll that I will use for my 40w head and the various speakers that I will use with it. I am planning to use pine for the EV cabs, as a little warmth should be useful.

I normally use open back cabinets but may try to do a front ported type cabinet. It would be better for outdoor venues. If these become dedicated for outdoor gigs they may end up in a 2 x 12 box. I could always do an 1 x 12 open back cabinet with another speaker for smaller spaces.